UTGB Vol 5.pdf - Robson Hall Faculty of Law

226 Underneath the Golden Boy
in the remaining differences between the laws. Launched in the spring of 2002,
the USL project provides the provinces with model legislation containing
clauses and definitions that the CSA believes should be common across all
provinces and territories. 14 The change to securities laws made by The Securities
Amendment Act is Manitoba's first step toward compliance with the USL
project, but further changes will be required to meet the CSA's proposals.
B. Options for Securities Regulatory Change
All stakeholders appear to agree that barriers should be reduced through
changes to securities regulation in Canada but there are differences of opinion
as to how that goal should be implemented. The two basic options for securities
regulatory reform are:
• A national securities regulator; or
• An interprovincial securities agreement.
From a government perspective, Ontario and the federal government back the
option of a national securities regulator, while every other province and
territory is calling for an interprovincial framework.
1. Interprovincial agreement: the Passport System
The ProvincialTerritorial Securities Initiative is the driving force behind the
passport model to securities reform. The goal of the ministers involved in the
initiative is to put in place a provincial/territorial framework that:
[l]nspires investor confidence and supports competitiveness, innovation and growth
through efficient, streamlined and cost-effective securities regulation that is simple to
use for investors and other market participants. 15
The passport system would:
[E]nsure that issuers and registrants (firms, brokers, etc) can access markets all across
Canada, by complying with the legislation in force under, and by dealing with, only one
authority, their primary jurisdiction. 16
The passport system proposes a single window of access to market participants
through mutual recognition or legal delegation. Under legal delegation, host
jurisdictions would delegate powers to make decisions to the primary
jurisdiction. Mutual recognition would allow participating jurisdictions to
recognize market participant credentials that have complied with regulatory
requirements of the primary jurisdiction.
14
Canadian Securities Administrators, Blueprint For Uniform Securities Laws For Canada,
online: Alberta Securities at 4.
15
Provincial-Territorial Securities Initiative, supra note 3.
16
Supra note 4.